We may be voting for the oldest Presidential ticket ever

UPDATE: With the announcement of Mike Pence and Tim Kaine as the 2016 running mates, we have updated the chart below by removing the finalists who weren’t chosen. Trump/Pence and Clinton/Kaine are the 7th and 8th oldest tickets ever. To answer a recent Twitter question, yes, this does appear to be the oldest foursome ever.

America is getting older.

And so, it seems, are our presidential tickets.

As Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton narrow in on their respective running mates, we looked at the combined age of every major party presidential ticket since 1804. What we discovered is that Americans could very well be voting between the two creakiest tickets in American history.

It doesn’t help that we have two of the top six oldest candidates ever, but past senior candidates have sought out younger VP choices. McCain picked Sarah Palin in 2008. H.W. Bush picked Dan Quayle. Even Ronald Reagan selected a 56-year-old H.W. his first time around.

In fact, the average combined age of Presidential tickets since 1804 is just over 110. No current individuals being talked about on the short list would be below that mark.

This year, Clinton, 69, and Trump, 70, may select peers to join them on the ticket. Elizabeth Warren (67) is among Clinton’s VP short-listers, as is Sherrod Brown (63) and Tim Kaine (58). Trump could select Newt Gingrich, who just turned 73. Of interest to Hoosiers, a Trump/Pence ticket would be the 7th oldest ever.

The only “young” choice is Julian Castro, who I once believed to be a slam-dunk as Clinton’s choice, but who has not been listed among the late favorites.

Bob Dole and Jack Kemp hold the current record for oldest pair at a combined age of 134, but that might not last. Trump/Gingrich and Clinton/Warren would both be older. By the way, if you’re looking at the Libertarian ticket as a younger alternative, Gary Johnson is 63 and Bill Weld is 71.

Have fun with the chart below, which includes every major party ticket in the last 200+ years, as well as several Trump and Clinton scenarios for this year.